Replies to Forum ● Jun 28, 2013
FAS’ reply to ST Forum Page: FAS thank all fans for their continued support for Singapore football
We thank Mr Marc Neo for this letter (“Home football teams should come first”, 19 June 2013) as published in The Straits Times.
The Football Association of Singapore appreciates Mr Neo and all fans for their continued support for Singapore football, which includes the National Team, LionsXII, Courts Young Lions, the S.League teams, and our National Football Academy (NFA) teams. It is also heartening to receive tremendous support for our young talents from fellow Singaporeans at the recent edition of the Canon Lion City Cup. The fans’ support was vital as they encouraged our NFA Under-15 and Under-16 teams to put up strong and valiant performances against the European and South America powerhouses, although they had missed out on the semi-final berths of the tournament due to goal difference and fewer goals scored respectively.
We are also heartened to note that several of our NFA team players had earned praise for their technical abilities from coaches at the top clubs competing in the recent editions of the Canon Lion City Cup. We are certain that if they are given the necessary regular match exposure and enhanced experience while training and playing in Europe of South America, it will definitely help them in their football development. The FAS will also continue to work with its partners to systematically groom and develop our youth players.
While we have progressed well in most of our programmes, including youth development under the FAS Strategic Plan, there remains much hard work ahead to achieve excellence at all levels. Hence, we would like to call upon all stakeholders, including fans and the media, to continue to work with us to raise the standards of football in Singapore. We also hope more corporations would answer the call by Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Mr Lawrence Wong at the recent Singapore Sports Awards, to provide more funds to take sports, and in particular, Singapore football to a higher level.
